CARE/CARERS

Integrated care pilots expansion (2nd February 2010)
Following successes in the original 16 ICPs the programme has been expanded to encourage and facilitate the sharing of knowledge amongst a wider range of stakeholders nationally and identify further innovative initiatives. The Department of Health are now inviting sites to send us their completed self-assessment forms in order to join the expanded community. Further guidance on the submission process is detailed within the tool documentation.
Documents

LOCAL AUTHORITY/GOVERNMENT

Use of Resources Good Practice and Case Studies (17th December 2009)
To help auditors and audited bodies identify good practice, the Audit Commission have published some case studies from the 2008/09 auditors' use of resources work.
Case Studies

Leading Together Better (29th December 2009)
During the summer of 2009, the IDeA’s Healthy Communities programme sponsored a research project by Shared Intelligence. This explored the nature of partnership working between directors of public health, adults’ services and children’s services. The project arose after the first joint conference between the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH), Association of Directors of Adults Social Services (ADASS) and Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS). The conference report reveals well-established partnership relationships between all three directors.

The IDeA has distributed the report to local authorities and primary care trusts (PCTs). It hopes that this will stimulate local discussion on the nature of partnership working for health and wellbeing and how it can be improved.
Document

LOCAL AUTHORITY/GOVERNMENT

LAC (DH) (2009)8 Autism strategy: improving services for people with autistic spectrum conditions (7th December 2009)
This circular highlights arrangements for the design and delivery of a new national strategy for adults with autistic spectrum conditions.
Publication

Valuing health: business case literature review (8th December 2009)
The Healthy Communities programme has produced a literature review which summarises the available evidence and research on the financial and non-financial impact of health improvement activity. This review highlights the need for a greater focus on the financial impact of health improvement activity on local government services, but does indicate that there are a number of areas where local authorities could expect to make efficiency savings. These include older people’s health and independence, workforce health and climate change and sustainability.
Report

Assessments relating to people with learning difficulties: Guidance to Local Authorities (November 2009)
The transition from school to a new learning establishment can be a difficult time for any young person. Those with learning difficulties are at particular risk of not making a successful transition. As a result, young people with learning difficulties are less likely to participate in education or training post-16 as those without, and are twice as likely to be NEET (not in education, training or employment).

The guidance is designed to help local authorities make consistent, effective and robust decisions but does not tell them what to do in each individual case. The guidance is current to March 2010 when new guidance published in Spring 2010, reflecting changes brought about by the ASCL Act, comes into effect.
Guidance

Assessments relating to people with learning difficulties: Guidance to Local Authorities - Analysis of consultation responses (November 2009)
The Education and Skills Act 2008 section 80 states that “in exercising its functions under this section, an authority must have regard to any guidance issued by the Secretary of State”.

The Education and Skills Act 2008 inserted Sections 139A to 139C into the Learning and Skills Act 2000 which placed a statutory responsibility on local authorities in relation to assessments relating to learning difficulties. The purpose of this consultation was to seek views on the draft statutory guidance.

The consultation ran from 23 April to 16 July 2009. A total of 70 responses were received. A summary of responses to each question is provided and a list of the respondents is included in the Annex.
Responses

Safeguarding children and young people: a new scrutiny guide (4th December 2009)
The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) and Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) have published a new guide to support overview and scrutiny committees in fulfilling their critical role in relation to safeguarding children.

The guide is designed to assist both councillors and officers in shaping and developing local safe services. The document includes:

• suggestions for approaches to scrutiny
• key references and advice for further reading
• a series of questions that committee members may want to consider when testing whether local arrangements are robust.

Guide

MATERNITY/MIDWIFERY

The Family Nurse Partnership Programme (3rd December 2009)
This letter from Ann Keen and Dawn Primarolo informs about the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) Programme. FNP is an evidence-based, preventive programme for vulnerable first-time young parents, delivered from early pregnancy until the child is two. Extensive evidence points to short and long term benefits for children and parents.
Information

Birth and beyond: stakeholder perceptions of current antenatal education provision in England (8th December 2009)
This research examined stakeholder perspectives about current NHS ante-natal education across ten strategic health authorities in England. The views expressed in this report are the authors' and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Health.
Report

Birth and beyond: a review of the evidence about antenatal education (8th December 2009)
The aim of this study was to synthesise published evidence concerning the cost and effectiveness of antenatal education, alongside evidence about stakeholder perspectives.
Report

Getting Maternity Services right for pregnant teenagers and young fathers - 2nd edition (November 2009)
This guide is aimed at practitioners working in mainstream services or areas where the prevalence of teenage pregnancy is relatively low and where there are no dedicated services for pregnant teenagers. It sets out the reasons why it is important to improve the maternity service offered to young parents, and offers practical guidance on working with pregnant teenagers and young fathers.

This guide, originally produced in 2008, has been revised following feedback from midwives and other maternity workers saying that they would welcome more guidance on ways of effectively engaging with young mothers. The content has been revised with the close involvement of the Fatherhood Institute and offers practical guidance on working with pregnant teenagers, young mothers and young fathers.
Guide

PARTNERSHIPS

Innovative partnerships: foundation trusts embracing social enterprises (15th October 2009)
This publication, from The NHS Confederation, explains what social enterprises are and why foundation trusts should collaborate with or set up social enterprises.
Publication

PARTNERSHIPS

A practical guide to integrated working (20th February 2008)
The Integrated Care Network recently launched a new publication at the joint ICN and NHS Networks event Making Partnerships Work in Health and Local Government, held on the 14th February 2008. The new 'Practical Guide to Integrated Working' outlines some of the central challenges experienced in local care economies, and also offers a new approach towards the true integration of health and care services.

Click here for the Publication

PARTNERSHIPS

Making Partnerships Work in Health and Local Government Presentations (15th February 2008)
The presentations from the keynote speakers and the workshops from this event held on 14th February are now available to download.
Click here for the Presentations

PARTNERSHIPS

Delivering health and well-being in partnership: the crucial role of the new local performance framework (20th December 2007)
This is one of a series of narratives being produced by the Department of Communities and Local Government that articulate changes made to local area agreements and the local government performance framework as a result of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. The narrative focuses on implications for the health and social care sector.
Click here for this Document